i should report you...

so this tale happened last year.  i've never been brave enough to post, until now. there will always be sketchy people in the world, whether you meet them in person or virtually.  be smart and trust your instincts.   

as you know, i have had some crazy experiences when it comes to dating, whether it be online or a by chance meeting.  however, none so unsettling or eye opening as this.  i had stopped the process of actively looking to date, it is an exhausting process and frankly i don't have the time to put that much effort in to it.  so, i had once again canceled my subscription and was letting it run out, when i received an email.

the email was really nice, which prompted me to check out this man's profile.  on virtual paper, it seemed as if this man had been dealt a rough hand, but was ready to rejoin the masses.  according to his profile, he is a widow, has a young daughter, and is just getting his toes wet attempting to date.  i responded.

we exchanged a few emails within the site email system and then exchanged personal emails.  at the time when we exchanged personal emails, he said he was leaving the country to attend to some family issues overseas, pertaining to his parents.  he said he would be gone for a couple of weeks, but wanted to keep in touch.  i didn't expect to hear much from him, but devoured any email he sent.

about a week into his stay overseas, i started noticing some inconsistencies.  the time frames weren't adding up, he would repeat things to me as if he was telling me for the first time, and he wasn't answering any questions i asked.  i was chalking it up to two strangers communicating through email and that it would be different in person.  being able to see physical expressions, hear their voice and stop when something didn't make sense for clarification, usually lends itself to clearer conversations.

every email he sent, which was daily, was very heartfelt.  he would talk about how much he missed his daughter and how he couldn't wait to get back to finally meet me.  i will admit that he was saying all the right things.

then came an email that really sent up a red flag.  he asked me if i had canceled my subscription because he was confident that we were going to be great together and he didn't want me communicating with other men.  i immediately fired back an email that said, although i had canceled my subscription, it had nothing to do with him and if this is his position about the woman he has in his life i wasn't interested.  he responded right away, saying he was joking, backtracking, trying to smooth things over.  i wasn't convinced.

we are now several weeks into his trip that was only supposed to be two at the longest, when i received another email.  this one was really strange, "i need to talk to you tonight, i have a favor i need to ask you that i can't disclose over email."  i read it a couple of times just to make sure i was reading it correctly.  i replied that i found the content of the email sketchy. he countered with a story of how he needed money to finalize whatever he was doing and didn't know how he was going to come up with it.  then came the request, "can you lend me $$$?"

my body was covered in goose bumps.  oh my word, this person, who has shared so much, is running a scam.  does he really think i am that stupid that i would send a complete stranger money?

for one, i didn't have the money that he was asking for.  two, i wouldn't send it to him even if i had it.  i found the request to be grossly inappropriate.  i am a stranger to this human, we haven't met or talked on the phone.  the only contact i have had up to this point, was email, and as you read i was already skeptical. 

he asked me one more time, for a lesser amount, stating that he had come up with some of it and could really use my help.  he said, he would be back in two days and would return the money upon returning the states.  i again said no.  he completely disappeared.  i contacted him one last time, which turned into a threat by him that if i shared any of this publicly he would sue me, for what i'm not sure.

i am tempted to disclose the information that i have about this person, but for all i know the contact info is completely false.  i did keep all the emails that he sent, one because i am too lazy to delete them, but once the red flags starting flying, it seemed important to do so.